--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Vice is man's nature: virtue is a…" description: "\"Vice is man's nature: virtue is a habit--or a mask.\" — William Hazlitt" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f8/william-hazlitt-326_character_vice-is-man-s-nature-virtue-is-a-habit-o_32478.png" --- # Vice is man's nature: virtue is a habit--or a mask. ![“Vice is man's nature: virtue is a habit--or a mask.” quote by William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f8/william-hazlitt-326_character_vice-is-man-s-nature-virtue-is-a-habit-o_32478.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f8/william-hazlitt-326_character_vice-is-man-s-nature-virtue-is-a-habit-o_32478.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f8/william-hazlitt-326_character_vice-is-man-s-nature-virtue-is-a-habit-o_32478.png) > “Vice is man's nature: virtue is a habit--or a mask.” [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human behavior tends toward self-interest, while moral conduct requires deliberate practice or a façade to appear virtuous. **In simple terms:** Virtue needs effort, vice is natural. Key Takeaway Morality is cultivated, not innate. Themes human nature morality habit formation self-deception ethical philosophy Mood reflective critical thoughtful Type aphorism philosophical observation When to use this quote - personal self-improvement - leadership ethics - psychological counseling - social criticism - cultural analysis Key Concepts vice virtue habit mask Practical Applications - ethical training programs - character development workshops Questions to Reflect On - What habits can transform vice into virtue? - How does societal pressure shape moral masks? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Habit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habit/) [Habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habits/) [Mask](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mask/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Vice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vice/) [Vices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vices/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) ## Related quotes > [Vice is man's nature: virtue is a habit -- or a mask. . . . The foregoing maxim shows the difference between truth and sarcasm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/vice-is-man-s-nature-virtue-is-a-habit-or-a-mask-the-foregoing-maxim/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [One big vice in a man is apt to keep out a great many smaller ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-harte/one-big-vice-in-a-man-is-apt-to-keep-out-a-great-many-smaller-ones/) [Bret Harte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-harte/) > [It is one of the most culpable oversights of nature that virtue and beauty so often come in separate packages.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/it-is-one-of-the-most-culpable-oversights-of-nature-that-virtue-and/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [Patriotism is one of the unalterable facts of man's nature. It is a virtue if you like it, and a vice if you don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-eastman/patriotism-is-one-of-the-unalterable-facts-of-man-s-nature-it-is-a/) [Max Eastman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-eastman/) > [“Mankind is immortal in the comic perspective not by virtue of man's subjugation of nature but by virtue of man's subjection to it. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-a-zimbardo/mankind-is-immortal-in-the-comic-perspective-not-by-virtue-of-man-s/) Rose A. Zimbardo > [A few months ago,i questioned myself about Nature and you know what was my conclusion? Nature can't be destroyed only damaged. However, Mankind is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-alves/a-few-months-ago-i-questioned-myself-about-nature-and-you-know-what/) [Carlos Alves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-alves/) > [“Be not too tame neither, but let your own discretion be your tutor: suit the action to the word, the word to the action;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/be-not-too-tame-neither-but-let-your-own-discretion-be-your-tutor-2/) [william shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I've been deeply influenced by Aristotle's idea that virtue is a habit, something you practice and get better at, rather than something that comes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-reilly/i-ve-been-deeply-influenced-by-aristotle-s-idea-that-virtue-is-a/) [Tim O'Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-reilly/) > [Virtue is the habit of acting according to wisdom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottfried-leibniz/virtue-is-the-habit-of-acting-according-to-wisdom/) [Gottfried Leibniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottfried-leibniz/) > [Trust, which is a virtue, is also a habit, like prayer. It requires exercise. And just as no one can run five miles a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-halpern/trust-which-is-a-virtue-is-also-a-habit-like-prayer-it-requires/) [Sue Halpern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-halpern/) > [Virtue is the habit of acting according to wisdom. GOTTFRIED WILHELM LEIBNIZ, "Felicity", Leibniz: Political Writings Virtue is harder to be got than knowledge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/virtue-is-the-habit-of-acting-according-to-wisdom-gottfried-wilhelm/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [Virtue is a habit of the mind, consistent with nature and moderation and reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/virtue-is-a-habit-of-the-mind-consistent-with-nature-and-moderation/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [Prejudice renders a man's virtue his habit, and a series of unconnected arts. Though just prejudice, his duty becomes a part of his nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/prejudice-renders-a-man-s-virtue-his-habit-and-a-series-of/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [“A virtue is a habit that includes all of these things: actions (you take care of your child even when you don't feel like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillip-cary/a-virtue-is-a-habit-that-includes-all-of-these-things-actions-you/) [Phillip Cary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillip-cary/) > [...and was disposed too often to idealize as a virtue that habit of mean subservience to wealth and social position which, after more than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-h-tawney/and-was-disposed-too-often-to-idealize-as-a-virtue-that-habit-of-mean/) [R. H. Tawney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-h-tawney/) ## More by William Hazlitt > [First impressions are often the truest, as we find (not infrequently) to our cost, when we have been wheedled out of them by plausible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/first-impressions-are-often-the-truest-as-we-find-not-infrequently-to/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [The art of life is to know how to enjoy a little and to endure very much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/the-art-of-life-is-to-know-how-to-enjoy-a-little-and-to-endure-very/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [We are thankful for good-will rather than for services, for the motive than the quantum of favor received.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/we-are-thankful-for-good-will-rather-than-for-services-for-the-motive/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [The discussing the characters and foibles of common friends is a great sweetness and cement of friendship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/the-discussing-the-characters-and-foibles-of-common-friends-is-a/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Want of principle is power. 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